Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Boston Three Party meet Miami Thrice.The new look Miami Heat invade Beantown tonight and open up the 2010-11 NBA season by visiting the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics.Superstar Dwyane Wade is still the captain in Miami. He's still introduced last, and he's still the center of attention in all of the team's publicity material, but make no mistake that's all just pageantry now.Wade has been joined in Miami by two of the highest profile free agent acquisitions in NBA history, the reigning two-time NBA MVP LeBron James, who fled Cleveland after seven seasons for South Beach, along with former Toronto All-Star power forward Chris Bosh.Meanwhile, Wade's former running rate on the Heat's 2006 NBA championship team, veteran center Shaquille O'Neal, is scheduled to make his debut for a Celtics team that came up just one game short of an NBA title last year."I think the NBA did an unbelievable job of picking a great first game," Wade said."All eyes will be on the game in Boston, but I think all eyes will really be on Miami," Celtics coach Doc Rivers added. "We are the other team that is playing and we are going to show up. But I'm sure everybody is there to see Miami."Wade, a former NBA Finals MVP and scoring champion himself, now has a lot in common with Derek Jeter in New York. Like Jeter with baseball's Yankees, he will always be the most popular player for his franchise but Wade is no longer the straw that stirs the drink in south Florida. In the Bronx, that title belongs to Alex Rodriguez. In South Beach, it took all of one day for James to seize the mantle.James and Bosh kicked off a new era for the Heat with a combined 38 points as Wade went down early with a hamstring injury in Miami's 105-89 exhibition opening win over the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 5.Of course, preseason wins -- heck, even regular season wins -- aren't what it's going to be about in Miami this season. In fact the Heat may want to embrace Billy Joel's "Pressure" as their anthem this season. Anything short of an NBA championship will be viewed as a disappointment.The blockbuster moves by Pat Riley in the offseason that netted Wade, who will play tonight despite struggling with the hamstring for much of the preseason, two teammates with 11 All-Star appearances between them also brought a ton of expectations.A potential minefield of off-the-court distractions await."I hope these guys embrace it," former NBA star Chris Webber said of the scrutiny the Heat's three stars will surely face. "Don't apologize for getting together; don't tell us why it happened. Just beat everybody and say 'I told you so.'"Things are much more tempered in Beantown, where the Celtics are coming off another great season in which they were a couple plays away from winning a second championship in three years.Led by their own big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen along with emerging point guard Rajon Rondo, Boston fell in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers, 83-79, wasting a 13-point third-quarter lead in the process, and losing the seventh game of the finals for the first time in the franchise's storied history.Health is a main issue for the aging core of the C's that now includes Shaq. and Jermaine O'Neal.Boston center Kendrick Perkins went down with a knee injury in Game 6 against the Lakers in The Finals and his absence was felt inside in the final game. Perkins underwent successful surgery in July to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and is scheduled to miss half of the upcoming season, forcing Boston to ink both O'Neals.The Celtics will also be without guard Delonte West, who is serving a 10-game suspension for an off-the-court indiscretion. Meanwhile, rookie guard Avery Bradley is out after undergoing left ankle surgery.For Miami, swingman Mike Miller will be sidelined until at least January after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament and fracture in his right thumb. Miller, who signed a free agent contract with Miami this offseason that was worth $25 million over five years, sustained the injury when he got his hand caught in a teammate's jersey in practice last week. To replace him on the roster the Heat signed veteran guard Jerry Stackhouse.Boston swept the three-game season series with the Heat last year and has won five straight overall and 11 of its last 12 against Miami. The Celtics also ousted Miami in the first round of the playoff last season but this is obviously a far different Heat team."As far as the East, we're the champs," Rondo said. "But that's in the past. This is a new season. We're not going to go down without a fight."

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Dwyane Wade is still the captain in Miami. He's still introduced last, and he's still the center of attention in all of the team's publicity material, but that's all just pageantry. Wade now has a lot in common with Derek Jeter in New York. Like Jeter with the Yankees, he will always be the most popular player for his franchise but Wade is no longer the straw that stirs the drink in south Florida.

In the Bronx, that title belongs to Alex Rodriguez. In South Beach, it took all of one day for LeBron James to seize the mantle.

James and Chris Bosh kicked off a new era for the Heat with a combined 38 points as Wade went down early with a hamstring injury in Miami's 105-89 exhibition opening win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.

James scored 18 points on 9-of-18 shooting and played nearly 27 minutes in his Miami debut. The reigning two-time MVP also ignited the crowd with a no-look pass and a brilliant spin move resulting in a thunderous slam.

"I was just anxious to get back on the court," James said after his first outing on the hardwood since sending shockwaves through the NBA this summer with his much-publicized and often-criticized "Decision" to leave his hometown Cavaliers.

"It's something I waited for all summer. The reception from the fans was awesome."

Bosh, who also joined the Heat to form the aptly titled "Miami Thrice" led the way with 20 points and had six rebounds. Wade played just the first 3:17 of the game before exiting with a strained right hamstring.

Of course, preseason wins -- heck, even regular season wins -- aren't what it's going to about in Miami this season. Anything short of an NBA championship will be viewed as a disappointment.

The blockbuster moves by Pat Riley in the offseason that netted Wade two teammates with 11 All-Star appearances between them also brought a ton of pressure.

"Can these guys stay focused amidst the media circus effect and keep their eyes focused on winning the championship?," former Heat star Steve Smith asked before the game. "If they can do that, that is one key to success for their season."

A potential minefield of off-the-court distractions await. Already, Wade found himself in a little hot water back in July with this little faux pas:

"We're going to be wearing a bull's-eye," Wade said before his annual charity basketball game in July. "But that's what you play for. We enjoy the bull's- eye. Plus, there's going to be times when we lose two, three games in a row and it seems like the world has crashed down. You all are going to make it seem like the World Trade is coming down again, but it's not going to be nothing but a couple of basketball games."

In a society that grows touchier by the day, that kind of insensitivity during an off-the-cuff remark will spawn a million headlines that could lead to the losing streaks Wade so inartfully described.

"I hope these guys embrace it," former NBA star Chris Webber said of the scrutiny the Heat's three stars will face. "Don't apologize for getting together; don't tell us why it happened. Just beat everybody and say 'I told you so.'"

Already the posturing about James shrinking away from the big stage and deferring to Wade has evaporated. A well-liked "King" or not is still the best player in the world, and he won't be the one deferring.

"I'm never in 'defer' mentality," James said after the game last night.

Not everyone agrees that should be the course Heat coach Erik Spoelstra should take.

"I think in game situations, the flow of the game will dictate who will take the last shot," NBA Network analyst and Hall of Famer Kevin McHale said. "I like D-Wade for it. When in doubt, give it to D-Wade. I like him at the end of games."

In the end, more often than not talent tells the story in the NBA. That bodes well for the Heat and it's hard to imagine the team struggling much during the regular season, but chemistry should be the deciding factor come playoff time.

"It is going to be fun for the fans in Miami," Webber said. "These guys are so talented and unselfish that I think they are going to play basketball the right way. I think it is going to be a joy to watch no matter what happens at the end of the year."

Detroit Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko will miss five to six months with a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered during Tuesday's preseason game in Miami.

Jerebko is scheduled to have surgery Friday to fix the injury, which was confirmed through an MRI exam Wednesday. He averaged 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds for the Pistons in 80 games (73 starts) last season, his rookie year.

The Pistons have also announced that rookie guard Terrico White, a second- round draft pick, broke a bone in his right foot during Tuesday's contest. White is also headed for surgery Friday, and a timeline for his return will be set after the procedure.